God knows I love a costume drama. And, although I thought there were some flaws in the plot, I also enjoyed the first series of Downton Abbey.  But now that I am caught up on the second series I must say, I think it’s really kind of lame. I won’t catalogue the things that made me roll my eyes like I did when I watched the terrible film version of Possession because that film was acres worse than Downton. Besides the often clumsy plotting, blocking, and writing, the thing that most annoys me is that it seems like the writers got out the big bag of WWI-era English costume drama tricks and decided to use a little bit of everything. Even that would be okay if they actually broke some new ground. But they don’t.

You can rent a pretty house and dress up a lot of pretty actors but if your script is lame the result will not be quite so pretty.
 

Me not buying books at Talk Story on the island of Kaua’i. (More on that later.)

It will be no surprise to any of you, either because of my previous idiocy, or because of your own habits, but I tend to pack way too much to read when I travel.  Believe me, I never actually think I am going to read so much in two weeks that I need 2,800 pages of reading, but I do worry that I won’t have the variety of reading material to satisfy the unknown reading whims that may crop up while away from home. I mean what would happen if I were to get bored with the book I am reading and I still have four or five hours of flying time? That would be awful.

So for 8 days in Hawaii and 4 days in San Francisco I decided I needed:

The Flight From the Enchanter by Iris Murdoch (read all 286 pages)
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (read 359 of 521 pages)
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens (read 5 of 860 pages)
All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (read 0 of 609 pages)
Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (read 0 of 307 pages)
According to Mark by Penelope Lively (read 0 of 217 pages)

It is true that the complexity of the Rushdie slowed me down considerably. If I had moved on to the Lipman and the Lively after the Murdoch, I would no doubt have read more. Still, the next time I contemplate carrying around 2,800 pages in my carry-on bag (over 6 legs of flying) I need to remind myself of the following:

1. Unless I am travelling to a non-English speaking country, I don’t need to pack my entire library.

2. If the longest single flying leg is only five hours, I really don’t need six books to ward off possible boredom with any one tome. Two books of different style or content would be enough variety for that long of a flight. I can always fall back on listening to music, looking at trashy magazines, watching movies, sleeping, eating, and talking to John.

3. It might actually be fun to have read something I found at one of the five great bookstores I visited while we travelled.

4. John and I are usually active enough that I don’t have hours and hours and hours of reading time. Even on the two week trips to Maine I don’t usually have as much reading time as I think I am going to.

5. If worse came to worse and I ran out of things to read I could alwasy download something on my iPad. But really hate reading in that format, so I will never not take actual books on a trip.

Many travel and reading related posts coming in the days ahead. I can’t believe it is January 21st and I am only now making my first blog post of the year.

Christopher Brosius is a genius.

Back in November we heard a story on NPR about Christopher Brosius, a perfumier in Brooklyn with a shop called CB I Hate Perfume, who makes a scent called “In the Library”. According to Brosius in that interview “In the Library” smells just like a library. Being the perceptive gent he is, John took mental note, and lo and behold “In the Library” was under the tree this Christmas.

Let me say I quite like “In the Library”, but I wasn’t so sure it smelled much like a library. Based on the radio interview I was expecting something quite literal. When I first smelled it I thought it was rather powdery. After I wore it for a while, not only did I find that I liked it in general, but it does kind of remind one of a library. I can’t quite explain it, but there is something about it that is libraryish. Albeit one with lots of Moroccan leather bindings.

When ordering “In the Library” John noticed they had one called “A Room With A View”. Again being the perceptive gent that he is John got me a small vial of “A Room With A View” as well. Redolent of violets and the Tuscan earth, it takes its cue from the scene in the book where George Emerson first kisses Lucy Honeychurch in a  field of violets outside of Florence. The violets are absent in the film version but if you have seen the wonderful Merchant Ivory film, you know exactly which scene I refer to. And let me tell you the scent version of “A Room With A View” is a revelation. Yes it smells like violets, but it also has an earthy and grassy quality that makes it so much nicer and more complex than any violet perfume you have ever smelled before.

Alan Cumming

John also got me “The 2nd Alan Cumming” which was created for the perfumier’s friend actor Alan Cumming. Proceeds from this one go to charity. It is masculine, just a touch funky, and really, really good.

Also in the package was a spray that supposedly keeps the bugs away. Being winter I can’t test that out right now, but it sure smells good. It reminds me of the early days of Aveda when they were doing a lot of personal aromas (or as they called them PureFumes).

CB I Hate Perfume has many other scents that sound absolutely fascinating. And based on what I have smelled so far they must be good. How about one called “At the Beach 1966” which has Coppertone as one of its base notes?!

The thing that is so wonderful about Brosius’ work is that his scents tell a story, but the result is beautiful and beguiling rather than gimicky. In a world full of really bad, synthetic smelling scents, CB I Hate Perfume is like an olfactory oasis.

Photo credit: Senate House Library University of London

A House in the Country by  Jocelyn Playfair – Finished
I finished reading this some time ago, but was a little underwhelmed and couldn’t really muster the energy to review it. Parts of it were enjoyable, but overall I was bored and a little annoyed. I didn’t really care for the structure of the narrative and I had a hard time caring about any of the characters.

The Vicar of Bullhampton by Anthony Trollope – Finished
You may recall my angst over finishing up the final four books in my nightstand by the end of the year. Many of you pointed out that life is too short and that I should set them aside and move on. Normally that is advice I would accept, but I really felt compelled to make an effort to finish them up. I am glad I made that effort because this Trollope was definitely worth finishing. I think I was in a bit of a slow patch in the book when I wrote that blog post, but soon after it picked up and I enjoyed the rest of it. I definitely like Trollope’s vicars more than I like his MPs.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson – Abandoned
I loved Jansson’s book of short stories Travelling Light. I thought they were beautiful and atmospheric. But they also had some bite to them. The Summer Book is a collection of linked autobiographical fictionalized scenes about summer. I can understand how they would be interesting and compelling and beautiful. In fact, I kept pushing on for that very reason. Intellectually I could tell that The Summer Book was all of those things. But emotionally I just didn’t care. The chapters didn’t have enough arc to them and I found the main character Sophie (the young Jansson?) to be a bit of a brat–and not even a clever one. Half way through, I decided I was getting nothing out this book and put it down. Probably forever.

Fairy Tales by Oscar Wilde – Abandoned

This collection of fairy tales is imaginative and brilliantly written, but I just don’t think I have room in my reading life to spend any more time on it. If I had a kid I think it would be fun to read them outloud, but I wasn’t getting much out of them. Time to let this one go.

The Lifted Veil by George Eliot – Postponed

Howards End – E. M. Forester – Started

One of the best Christmas shows of all time–Margot sends Christmas back to the store because the tree is an inch or two too short.

the whole episdoe is great, but my favorite seasonal greeting comes at the 3’55” mark…

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John often has great suggestions for things that I could blog about. Sometimes I take his advice. Sometimes I don’t. When I don’t, it is either because I am being stubborn or I am too lazy. John’s work life is pretty demanding so he doesn’t have as much free time as I do, but there was a time before we moved into our house when he briefly had a blog of his own. He started A Small Garden Obsession when we had about a foot of snow on the ground in December of 2009. At the time his only gardening space was a 12′ x 16′ terrace which he turned into a really magnificent container garden. Anyhoo, the snow melted, we went off to Thailand, then we bought a house and John had a lot less time to think about keeping up a blog.

Recently John took a bunch of photographs and gave me all kinds of ideas for blog posts. So this post and the one following, while they don’t strictly count as guest posts, are inspired by his eye (and his love of Lucy).

Lucy loves a fire.

Me with bedhead. After my post about beverages you may be wondering what is in the mug. Hot cocoa, with a big “handcrafted” Williams-Sonoma marshmallow.

Lucy wants to wish you all Happy Holidays!

    
John and I both love to watch Lucy and her best friend Lucy play in our backyard. And he is aware that many of my readers love them some Lucy photos so he knew that he could indulge in a little proud puppy papa moment on My Porch.

Lucy’s best friend Lucy

Lucy

   
Sadly, I am confident that none of the three books I think I might still finish by the end of the year will make it onto my best of list for 2011. This of course means that I am at liberty to unveil My Top 10 Reads of 2011 with 11 days left to go.

I did more re-reading in 2011 than I typically do and many of those might have made the cut, but I decided not to include them in the running. If I had you might have been likely to see two Brookners, another Cather (The Professor’s House),  As For Me and My House by Sinclair Ross and The Ark by Margot Benary Isbert.

Honorable mentions: My Life in France by Julia Child, Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather, The Group by Mary McCarthy, Travelling Light by Tove Jansson, and They Were Sisters and Because of the Lockwoods by Dorothy Whipple.

The New House by Lettice Cooper
I loved the narrative structure of this novel that takes place in one day. I also love a book that has a good personal breakthrough/transformation.

Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson
This was hands down the book most made me want to jump up and down out of sheer reading pleasure.

A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert
The Dead by James Joyce
Two from the Art of the Novella challenge in August. I can’t exactly put my finger on why these two stand out but I found both of them beautiful and moving in their own ways.

A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
One of the best unreliable narrators of all time. That girl is a mess!

The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
I found this one not only sweet and poignant, but I also found myself identifying with the main character.

The Skin Chairs by Barbara Comyns
I was on the fence about putting this on in the top 11 instead of Whipple’s Because of the Lockwoods. I think there are similarities in both content and quality, but since this was my first Comyns, I decided to give the berth to the newcomer.

The Magnificent Spinster by Mary Sarton
Second year in a row that a Sarton novel makes it onto my year’s best list. I think Rachel at Book Snob might agree on this one.

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
Beautiful, touching, transcendent.

The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
Such an amazing tale of and really great writing. If I had to choose one novel on the list that approaches being “art” I think I would choose this one.

The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff
Such a wonderfully cozy, kooky, sad/spooky tale of the moon slamming into Earth. Loved it.
 

Photo credit: Deep Roots at Home

I know this is going to sound stupid (as it did to John), but sometimes I wish I was addicted to some sort of beverage. It seems that for so many people a beverage is the ultimate day brightener. The British have their endless cups of tea that not only seem to be little mini-celebrations of life, but also make everything, from shrapnel wounds to work stress, all better. Then there is the fact that America wouldn’t function without its morning cup of joe – not to mention the now almost ubiquitous afternoon frappelatteccino.

Do you remember this picture of my library? Well, I faked it. I would never drink espresso. The brown liquid in the cup is soy sauce.

And then we move into the world of alcohol. I watch a lot of TV, and boy do people on TV drink a lot of alcohol on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong I am not looking to become alcoholic, but where would the Real Housewives be without their gigantic glasses of wine? What would those irascible scamps on the Real World do if they weren’t getting shit-faced at every turn? And what about the endless mugs of beer on Cheers?

OC Housewives about to become louder and more obnoxious than usual.

As much as I hate beer, it always looked so good on Cheers.

I don’t even understand soda (pop, soft drinks, etc.). You see, my problem is that I don’t like any beverage just for the sake of the beverage. Apart from slaking thirst (strictly water), for me liquid is only meant to go with something else.

Make mine a Diet Coke.

Tea goes with copious amounts of scones or other baked goods and even then is somewhat superfluous to me.

In my book coffee goes with nothing. I love the smell of it, but you couldn’t pay me to drink a cup.

Soda strictly goes with pizza, burgers, or other similar high-fat, handheld food.

Red wine is amazing with good food – and I do quite enjoy it in that context, but it is rare that I will have a glass just to have a glass. In fact I try and make sure that I finish my wine by the time I finish my last bit of food. White wine pretty much goes with nothing on my palate. I will say I have had some extremely good whites with extremely good food, paired by extremely good sommeliers, but how often does that happen?

Cocktails (and I tend to prefer some sort of giant, girl-cocktail with an umbrella) are sometimes okay on their own, but I still am usually looking for something to munch on. Brown spirits are pretty much just for cooking.

Beer, ale, lager, hard cider, etc. have no place in my life. The smell alone is enough to make me wretch.

Years ago I heard a story on public radio about people whose palates didn’t tolerate grapefruit (I think it tastes like poison) also tend not to like alcohol. I think this may be me with above the exceptions.

In many ways I should be glad that I don’t have any of these cravings. I clearly don’t require caffeine to function. And just think of all the money and calories I save by not craving alcohol. But there is part of me that wishes I had some sort of liquid pacifier that made me happier, or calmer, or more relaxed. I’m not depressed or anything (or am I? maybe that is why I am finding no joy in reading or blogging lately). It just feels like after 42 years of keeping tight control over everything it would be kind of nice to have some magic panacea that just allowed me to turn off or turn on, or whatever it is that beverages do for other people. Maybe I just feel left out…maybe its time for a little tap water…

    
  
Believe it or not, the graphic above is the number 1,000 in Wingdings 2. I was playing around with fonts to use with the number 1,000 when I stumbled on the Wingdings 2. But why was I looking at the number 1,000 in different fonts? I was all set to do a post this morning with the title “Ending the Year with a Whimper”, but when I went to create the post, I noticed that my last post was actually my 1,000th  So huzzah for My Porch. I am grateful for the platform to blather on and even more grateful that so many of you decide to comment on my blather and in some cases even listen to my blather in person. Perhaps counterintuitively, the cyber world, rather than cut me off from the real world, has actually helped expand my social opportunities with flesh and blood humans.

So why was I going to do a post on ending the year with a whimper? Because I am finding little inspiration in the four books I currently have going. Because I haven’t had any inspiration for a clever blog post in ages. And because I haven’t had time to keep up with all of your blogs. I should note that some of this reading/writing/online ennui stems from the fact that December tends to slow me down on all of these fronts–too many other happy distractions like Christmas trees and socializing. But, the fun in my real life doesn’t distract from the boredom in my reading life. I have half a mind to chuck all four books into the “not going to finish” pile, but I am too far along in each of them to do that. Plus, I kind of want to finish them all off so I can start the new year with a clean slate.